Year in Review: Part 4

Dec. 29—Editor's note: The following is the fourth story in a local year-in-review series.

EAU CLAIRE — Change was in the air as the final months of 2021 arrived.

New beginnings took shape for the Children's Museum and the Sonnentag Center, while several area elected officials decided to move on from their positions.

The COVID pandemic, which had been in the background all year, reasserted itself with a new wave of infections — and a new variant whose ability to spread stunned even experts.

And in December, the latest tornadoes ever recorded in Wisconsin arrived. The storms did significant damage to the area. Not long after that, freezing rain caused an epic snarl on I-94.

What a way to close out a year.

October

The last of four siblings in an area family hit a milestone. All four saw their marriages reach their 50th anniversaries.

Ground was broken for the new Children's Museum in Eau Claire.

Peter Rindal took the oath of office as Eau Claire County's new district attorney.

Chippewa County authorities announced investigators had identified the woman whose body was found in a suitcase in an abandoned house.

Altoona stalwart Ray Henning was remembered for his contributions to the community.

Construction costs continued to rise as prices for materials shot up. That wasn't the only challenge, as supply chain bottlenecks limited what was available.

Eau Claire County said tax collections were up.

Gas prices surged, hitting a seven-year high in the Chippewa Valley. Concerns about inflation grew along with the prices.

Eau Claire shut down some additional wells due to PFAS contamination, but assured residents the remaining wells were more than enough to maintain the water supply.

The Eau Claire Express received a discount from the city for games in the 2021 season. The team's potential revenue was limited in part due to restrictions on crowd size.

Peak fall colors arrived, but they were muted by unusually warm weather.

A financial literacy program for inmates at the CVCTF received rave reviews from both the inmates and their teachers.

Ryan Casper, an Ellsworth teacher and veteran, revived a program designed to help the Afghan refugees arriving at Fort McCoy.

Cardinals prospect Dalton Roach had an unpleasant encounter with an overgrown cub while in his deer stand. The bear bit him, but didn't do serious injury.

Leinenkugel announced a new mini-brewery would be built at the Leinie Lodge in Chippewa Falls as a home for some limited releases and other offerings.

Local law enforcement officials said they would not require vaccination against COVID for their officers.

The Eau Clare County Sheriff's Department issued a warrant targeting the county Department of Human Services amid an ongoing investigation into the department's finances.

The mayors of Altoona, Wisconsin and Altoona, Iowa made a friendly wager on the outcome of the Wisconsin-Iowa football game. The Badgers thumped the Hawkeyes on the field.

UWEC received a huge donation: $10 million from a donor who wanted to remain anonymous.

A UW-Stout alumnus Andrew Smith did something no one alive had ever achieved. He played a key role in creation of the first new blue pigment in 240 years.

Habitat for Humanity returned to the area, launching its first new project in Eau Claire in years.

Blake Sykora of Chippewa Falls took the top prize at a national cooking competition with his Wisconsin cheesesteak.

Wisconsin legislators debated a bill named after a local cancer patient. The bill would prohibit hospitals from restricting the sources of medications and treatments to vendors of their choice.

The region hit 700 COVID deaths since the pandemic began. Cases continued to rise.

Country Fest announced its 2022 lineup, planning for a strong followup to 2021's big crowds.

Negotiations between the new owners of the landfill in Eau Claire County and neighbors over compensation and plans for expansion dragged on.

November

Lillian Edelman's years of crocheting for others were recognized. Over about 45 years, Edelman made and donated thousands of items.

Eau Claire County hired an outside attorney to handle the ongoing investigation into the county's Department of Human Services.

Country Jam announced the lineup for the 2022 shows.

Chippewa Falls' Mobile Meals program celebrated its 50th anniversary, having delivered thousands of meals over the years to those who needed them.

Area hospitals began to make plans for vaccination of juveniles as federal health officials signaled likely approval of the COVID vaccines for children as young as 5 years old.

Antique Emporium, a massive antique store in downtown Eau Claire, was purchased by the Pablo Group. The owner wanted to retire, while the building will be redeveloped.

Candidates began applying for Eau Claire city manager, with a January deadline for the initial vetting.

Dan Yang and Kaying Xiong were named two of Wisconsin's most influential Asian-American leaders.

The Northern Wisconsin State Fair launched an ambitious $5 million capital campaign.

Eau Claire boosted funding for a planned second skate park. The new facility will be located in Boyd Park.

An Eau Claire County deer farm was found to have deer infected with chronic wasting disease. The illness, which is always fatal, has spread in Wisconsin over the past several years.

Chippewa Falls veteran Lonnie Heidtke was recognized on-air by Bill Karins, a Today Show meteorologist, for his service during the Vietnam War.

Demolition of the Campus View Hotel began.

Eau Claire police released their report into the Luginbill Foundation's finances. Prosecutors decided not to bring charges, despite the report's discovery of more than $20,000 in funds police concluded were misused.

Local football fans were elated as the Green Bay Packers launched their first stock sale in a decade.

Officials warned of a new COVID surge as the holidays approached.

Connell's supper clubs in Chippewa Falls and Fall Creek were put up for sale.

Deer season saw plenty of hunters out, but the number of deer taken during the annual gun season was down from the previous year.

Area residents got a sneak peek at next year's air show as a member of the Blue Angels, the Navy's high-performance flight team, arrived in town.

A man was charged after authorities said he intentionally crashed his vehicle into Cumberland City Hall.

UW-Eau Claire's volleyball team brought home its first national title. The next month the Badgers followed suit, making Wisconsin the nation's volleyball capitol for the year.

Former Badger quarterback Gregg Bohlig talked about his lifesaving heart transplant.

Flu cases rose in the area. The illness was almost entirely suppressed during the 2020-21 flu season as people took precautions against COVID.

Chippewa Falls took precautions but kept plans for its annual holiday parade after a man crashed through marchers at a similar event in Waukesha.

Unemployment fell to less than 2 percent in the Eau Claire metro area.

A new courtroom in Eau Claire County's courthouse neared completion ahead of the spring 2022 election of a new judge.

A pair of skilled woodcarvers from the area drew attention for their intricately detailed work.

December

A new effort emerged to create a tiny home shelter for women and families in need.

Enrollment dropped at UW-Eau Claire and UW-Stout.

Police K-9 units from throughout the region gathered in Chippewa Falls for a day of training.

Officials announced that the harvest in the gun deer season was down 8% in Wisconsin.

Larry Lokken's bid for early release was rejected. The decision was widely anticipated after the judge had previously advised Lokken to hire an attorney to represent him in the filing.

Worries about the lack of options for Eau Claire's homeless population rose as temperatures fell. Some of the usual daytime warming opportunities aren't available this year, and advocates said that creates risk.

Daniel Peggs, the former Altoona superintendent, was sentenced to eight years in federal prison for possession of child pornography.

The Eau Claire City Council's committee on hiring a new City Manager hoped to begin the first round of interviews soon.

John and Carolyn Sonnentag, whose $10 million gift helped kick start the eponymous Sonnentag Center for UW-Eau Claire, raised their donation to $70 million. The increase effectively covered the entirety of the university's planned fundraising campaign.

A program at UW-Stout aided students who were former foster care children. A lack of young adult services often complicates the process of such people transitioning from programs aimed at minors to the next stages of their lives.

A monument was placed in Augusta to honor nine members of the community who were killed at Pearl Harbor 80 years earlier.

The season's first big snow blanketed the region, but it was gone by Christmas.

The Bergeman family received national recognition for their efforts to ensure Jefferey, a disabled family member who loves running, was included in races.

State Sen. Kathy Bernier called for an end to the probes into Wisconsin's 2020 elections. The Republican later said criticism of that stance made her rethink plans to retire from office.

Chippewa County was announced as the host of the 2024 Farm Technology Days. The return of the event to the region so soon after it was hosted by neighboring Eau Claire County was unusual.

After months of secrecy, the Eau Claire school district released limited information about its equity committee. The claim that no minutes from the committee's meetings were kept contradicted earlier assertions and raised questions about whether the district had followed Wisconsin's open meetings and records laws.

Unusually powerful December storms raked the area. A weak tornado touched down in Eau Claire County, and severe damage was done to many of Stanley's buildings.

Eau Claire schools said students' scores in English had dropped.

After months of rising caseloads, the region saw the highest one-day COVID death toll yet from the pandemic.

Eau Claire County was in line for as much as $3.3 million in the settlement of a national opioid lawsuit.

Many businesses struggled with COVID absences, and schools were no different. Eau Claire Superintendent Mike Johnson stepped in as a substitute to help out for a day.

Dave Roll reflected on his creation of a seasonal earworm: the Menards holiday jingle familiar from television and radio ads.

Freezing rain didn't create much ice, but it was enough to cause a massive snarl of traffic on I-94. As many as 100 vehicles were involved in various crashes but, remarkably, no one was killed. The highway was shut down for most of a day to clear the mess.

Unemployment remained almost a non-issue for the region, with Eau Claire's jobless rate at an astoundingly low 1.6%.

Changes lay ahead in 2022 as several members of area school boards and city councils announced they would not seek re-election in the new year.

The year ended on a cold note, with temperatures just a few degrees below normal. Forecasters expected a cold front to arrive on New Year's Day, ushering in a much colder start to 2022.